No water or electricity at New Sabzi Mandi, complain vendors

Sustainable Development Policy Institute met traders on Wednesday.

KARACHI: There is no water, fire safety equipment or electricity at the New Sabzi Mandi, complained the vendors on Wednesday.

They were meeting members of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute and Search for Common Grounds to discuss the problems faced at the fruits and vegetables wholesale market.

“We waited for two hours for the fire tenders to arrive when the fire broke out on March 6,” said the deputy general secretary of All Tajir Beradari Alliance, Wasay Tareen. “And when they did arrive, we didn’t have water pumps to refill the fire tenders.” He was upset that there was a lack of these services even though they pay millions in taxes every month.

The administrator of Karachi Market Committee, Ghulam Murtaza Baloch, offered to help the vendors during the meeting. “I will mention their problems to Karachi’s commissioner and Sindh’s agriculture secretary and chief minister,” he explained. “People who want to resolve the problems faced by the residents of the city will have my full support.”

It was also suggested during the meeting that giving the vendors direct access to market places, such as Sunday Bazaar and Bachat Bazaar, would allow them to sell fruits and vegetables at cheaper prices. “At least 10 middlemen take their cut before the product is sold, which is why the prices are so high and unaffordable for customers,” said Baloch.



During the meeting, two committees were formed. One was delegated the responsibility of negotiating with the government to see whether stock could be supplied directly to the market places. Representatives from Sunday Bazaar, who also attended the meeting, agreed to help. The other committee was made responsible for overseeing the internal matters of vendors and reporting them to the committee’s convener.

Maqsood Ahmad Jan, the project coordinator of the institute, moderated the programme, which was attended by a number of lawyers, traders and government representatives.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2013.